Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 25, 2012

16

THE WORLD AROUND US

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 25, 2012 


ROCKET LAUNCHED INTO NORTHERN 

LIGHTS TO STUDY GPS EFFECTS

 As the brilliant colors of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, delight 
skygazers, researchers are discovering how they affect GPS satellite 
signals here on Earth.

 A NASA-funded collaborative research team led by Steven Powell, 
Cornell University senior engineer in electrical and computer engineering, 
launched a sounding rocket from Alaska’s Poker Flat Research Range on 
Saturday, Feb. 18, to collect data straight from the heart of the aurora.

 The project - the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the 
Alfvén resonator (MICA) mission - involves 60 scientists, engineers, 
technicians, and graduate students from several institutions and NASA. 
Researchers from Dartmouth College, the University of New Hampshire, 
the University of Oslo (Norway), Southwest Research Institute, and the 
University of Alaska Fairbanks also are making significant contributions 
to the mission.

 “We’re investigating what’s called space weather,” said Powell, who has 
been stationed at the rocket launch site, 30 miles north of Fairbanks, since 
the end of January. “Space weather is caused by the charged particles that 
come from the Sun and interact with the Earth’s magnetic field. We don’t 
directly feel those effects as humans, but our electronic systems do.”

 These include global positioning systems (GPS). One of the scientists’ 
main goals is to investigate the effects of space weather on GPS satellites.

 The rocket is a 46-foot Terrier-Black Brant model that was sent arcing 
through the aurora 217 miles above Earth, sending a stream of real-time 
data back before landing 200 miles downrange. Instruments on board 
sampled electrons in the upper atmosphere that are affected by a form of 
electromagnetic energy called Alfvén waves. These waves are thought to 
be a key driver of “discrete” aurora - the typical, well defined and famously 
shimmering lights that stretch across the horizon.

 The rocket payload separated into two parts once launched. One 
extended antennas to measure electric fields generated by the aurora. 
Other antennas and sensors measured electrons and ions interacting 
with the Earth’s magnetic field. In this period of high Sun activity, called 
solar maximum, gases from the Sun are likely interfering 
with GPS transmissions, satellite Internet and other signals.

 “We are becoming more dependent on these signals,” 
Powell said. “This will help us better understand how 
satellite signals get degraded by space weather and how 
we can mitigate those effects in new and improved GPS 
receivers.”

 The precision measurements from the rocket’s instruments 
will also shed new light on the physical processes that create 
the northern lights and further our understanding of the 
complex Sun-Earth connection.

 According to Marc Lessard, an associate professor at 
the University of New Hampshire Institute for the Study of 
Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS) and Department of Physics, 
the “Alfvén resonator” is a structure in the ionosphere that 
acts like a guitar string when “plucked” by energy delivered 
by the solar wind to Earth’s magnetosphere high above.

 “The ionosphere, some 62 miles up, is one end of the 
guitar string and there’s another structure over a thousand 
miles up in space that is the other end of the string,” Lessard 
said. “When it gets plucked by incoming energy we can get 
a fundamental frequency and other ‘harmonics’ along the 
background magnetic field sitting above the ionosphere.”

 As for the significance of continued investigation 
into auroral processes, Lessard noted, “It’s all about 
understanding how the energy of the solar wind gets 
coupled to Earth’s magnetic field and eventually gets 
dumped into the our upper atmosphere.”

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.
com.


THE 8TH OF MARCH

 I don’t know if you’ve already heard, 
but there is a very real chance that the 
FBI will be shutting down the Internet for 
possibly millions of users whose computers 
are infected with the one of the many 
variants of the DNSChanger virus. This 
particular brand of malware works by 
replacing the DNS (Domain Name System) 
server entries with fake values that direct 
a victim’s computer and internet searches 
to malicious servers operated by the same 
bad guys who deployed the virus in the first 
place. As a result, visitors are unknowingly 
redirected to websites that distribute 
fraudulent software or display ads that puts 
money into the bad guys’ pockets through 
a pay-per-click arrangement. 

One particularly nasty feature of the virus 
is that it alters the victim’s system in such 
a way that the computer is unable to 
download and install security updates and 
an already infected machine will disable 
already installed security software. The FBI 
took steps to contain the damage caused by 
this outbreak by replacing the rogue servers 
with legitimate ones. 

The plan is to leave these servers in place for 
120 days and those 120 days are scheduled 
to expire on March 8th of this year. So the 
real problem isn’t so much that the FBI 
stopgap measure will be expiring in a few 
days and this action may affect potentially 
thousands of users, but that many people 
and organizations haven’t removed the 
malware from their computers. As many 
as half of Fortune 500 companies and 
government agencies are delinquent in 
updating according to some reports. 

 So how do you know if your computer 
or router is infected with DNSChanger? 
One way is to have a security/malware 
scan done on your machine by your 
computer professional or other service 
provider. Most reputable anti-virus \ anti-
malware software packages have updated 
security definitions that detect and remove 
the infection. You can also contact the 
DNSChanger Working Group at http://
www.dcwg.org for a list of additional 
resources in removing the infection from 
an infected machine.

 Since this particular malware affects the 
way computers find resources on networks 
and the internet it is an equal-opportunity 
threat and infects Mac OS, Linux and 
Windows systems equally. This is one 
particular instance where all internet-
connected machines should be checked for 
infection.


KATIE Tse..........This and That

NED & PRINCE

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc.

Canyon Canine Dog 

Walking & Pet Sitting Services

 My dear Auntie Evelyn turned 97 years old this 
past November, and believe me when I say that 
you would never know it if I hadn‘t told you. She is 
remarkably healthy for her age, she has a “steel-trap” 
mind that is as sharp as a tack and she still lives on 
her own! Evelyn Swallow-Leake was born in 1913 in Worcester, Massachusetts. She spent 
her years as a teen-ager growing up during the Great Depression, which as we all know was a 
rather difficult time in history. On the other hand, it was a time that seems purely ethereal to 
me, at least, from the way my Aunt Evelyn describes it. She really enjoys sharing her childhood 
memories, and I truly enjoy hearing them. I try to write most of what she shares with me down 
in my journal, and I treasure many of her memories as if they were my own. 

 In one of my recent conversations with Aunt Evelyn, she recounted a very vivid memory of 
the many times she accompanied her Uncle Carl Woods (my great uncle) on a horse-drawn 
carriage, during his lumber deliveries from one area of town to another. Evelyn, who was about 
12 years old at the time, would wait by the road side after school had let out, knowing that was 
when Uncle Carl was expected to pass by with two horses towing a load. She would ride along 
with him during the latter part of the day, until it was time to take the horses back to the barn.

 Even as a young child, Aunt Evelyn was an avid animal lover who was fortunate enough to 
have had pets of her own. Her face lights up every time she reflects on her memory of showing 
her appreciation and affection to the two work horses that pulled the lumber truck Uncle Carl 
drove. She delights in remembering the fact that she made sure each horse got a carrot and a 
friendly pat on the nose before she was hoisted up and assumed her position in the seat next to 
Carl, then off they would go. Among the many specific details that my aunt remembers about 
this experience, most amazing to me is the fact that she recalled the name of the company that 
Uncle Carl worked for at the time. It was “Stone & Berg Lumber Company” of Worcester, MA. 
Even more amazing is the fact that Auntie remembered the names of the two horses that pulled 
the loaded lumber cart. Their names were “Ned” & “Prince”.

 The day after Aunt Evelyn shared this fascinating story with me, I decided to do a little 
research on Stone & Berg Lumber Co., just to see if there was any history available on the 
internet that I could connect to Auntie‘s childhood memory. Well, I am happy to say that my 
Google search rendered way more than I had expected to find. First of all, I was so surprised to 
discover that Stone & Berg Company is still in business! I called the phone number provided 
on the website, and I was directed to the current owner of the company, Jennie Berg. Jennie was 
very cordial and kind, taking the time to listen to my story of how my Aunt Evelyn had vivid 
memories of having been on several Stone & Berg lumber delivery excursions back in the mid 
1920‘s. Needless to say, Jennie was as please as I was with the fact that Auntie had such clear 
memories about the early days of the Berg family’s business, including such specific details as 
the names of the horses that pulled the cart and delivered the lumber. Jennie confirmed that 
Evelyn’s memories were perfectly consistent with the history of their company, and amazingly 
accurate down to the last detail. She was pleased to know that my Auntie was able to remember 
and share her story of having been there when the Berg family business was in the hands of her 
grandfather, so many years ago!

 Soon after we talked on the phone, Jennie was thoughtful enough to send me a package of 
Stone & Berg Lumber Company memorabilia items, most important of which was a photograph 
of the two horses Auntie remembered, Ned and Prince, hitched and harnessed to a fully loaded 
lumber cart parked in front of the Stone & Berg building with a gentleman standing beside. 
I forwarded the photograph to my Auntie Evelyn as part of her Christmas package this year, 
and after comparing the face of the man in the Stone & Berg picture to a family photo taken 
around the same time, we all agreed that the man standing next to the hitched horses is indeed 
my great Uncle Carl! I can’t begin to describe how happy it made me to be able to bring my 
Auntie‘s story to life and “full circle“! All it took was a listening ear, a little research and a bit of 
random kindness from someone I have never even met face to face. As you can well imagine, 
my Aunt Evelyn and Jennie Berg were also very pleased to have found a bit of their own family 
history in a place and time where we might have least expected it! 

Big Kiss

 If you haven’t already 
seen “The Artist,” I highly 
recommend it! Sometimes I 
just like to plug great films, 
such as “Forks over Knives” 
and “The Last Man on Earth,” 
although both for very different reasons. “The 
Artist” is everything the name implies. It’s a 
black and white, (mostly) silent film produced 
in France, shot in L.A., starring a Frenchman 
and an Argentinean. And John Goodman’s 
in it, too! The plot borrows heavily from the 
1950’s “Singing in the Rain,” a love story set 
at the juncture of silent and “talkie” films. 
However, director Michel Hazanavicius’s 
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and 
does not diminish his film in the 
least. 

 To concisely define its appeal, I 
would say “The Artist” achieves 
its charm, poignancy, humor, and 
romance by mastery of suggestion. 
Suggestion: this is a foreign concept 
to the typical American movie goer 
(Ha ha! “Foreign” Get it?!). To 
master suggestion is to intrigue 
through restraint. For example, one 
of the film’s most touching scenes is 
when Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), 
sneaks into George Valentin’s (Jean 
Dujardin) dressing room. Seeing 
his tuxedo jacket hung on a coat 
rack, Peppy strokes the fabric and 
then envelops herself in it as in an 
embrace. Suddenly a hand appears 
from inside the sleeve and grasps 
Peppy’s waist. At first, Peppy looks 
up startled, but then coyly smiles as 
the arm hugs her closer. Of course it 
is Peppy pretending to be caressed by George. 
So “wrapped up” (Wow, I’m on a pun roll this 
week!) is she in her fantasy that she initially 
fails to notice George watching her from the 
doorway. The gestures are seemingly simple, 
yet the finesse with which Bejo pulls it off 
imbues it with such romantic longing. This is 
just one small example of the film’s artistry.

 The concept of storytelling through subtlety 
and restraint isn’t just for love stories. Fritz 
Lang’s chilling film, “M,” about a serial 
murderer, is told more through what is unseen 
than what is visible. In one scene, the viewer 
first sees the villain in the shadows, followed 
by a shot of a young child with a balloon. The 
view pans to the balloon floating away; and 
the audience is left to their own gruesome 
imaginations.

 In comedy as well, even the most mundane 
subjects can create humor. In Laurel & Hardy’s 
“The Piano,” the pair finally pushes a crate 
containing a piano up a long set of stairs. 
Once at the top, the wind catches Hardy’s hat. 
He grabs for it, making the piano lurch. The 
hat delicately hops down the stairs and lands 
upright, just beyond the sidewalk --only to be 
smashed by a car. The shot looks down the 
stairway, with the hat settling at the extreme 
top of the frame. All we can see of the car is its 
tires, gently rolling over Hardy’s bowler. 

 At the risk of sounding like a total prude, 
American cinema on the whole has lost any 
art of subtlety it may have had. I was going 
to write that the climactic kiss in “The Artist” 
will probably go down as one of film’s iconic 
romantic moments. And then I realized there 
was no “big kiss.” I was amazed that such 
passion could be achieved without even the 
locking of lips! There was 
a big hug, but that’s hardly 
the same thing. If this 
were an American movie, 
it would likely have relied 
upon a heaping dose of 
adult content to create a 
similar emotion.

 The same goes for 
special effects. Granted, 
many films use them to an 
appropriate degree. And 
some stories simply could 
not be conveyed without 
them. However, I’m 
not the first to say many 
directors use technology 
as a crutch rather than a 
tool. (I mean you, James 
Cameron!) Apologies 
to any Cameron fans 
reading this. Of course 
I don’t blame all this on 
him, or directors like him. Speaking broadly, 
the American audience has been dumbed 
down to the point of needing the plot spoon 
fed in simple, digestible chunks. We recoil at 
characters who don’t fit nicely into familiar 
prototypes. And unresolved endings are 
heretical! Have you noticed that it’s possible 
to enter a movie half way, leave periodically, 
and still have a good sense of what’s going on? 
As you’ve probably gathered, I am a cinematic 
old person. There are many good new movies, 
“The Artist” being one of them. And I’m sure 
there are even some good new American ones, 
as well. But I haven’t seen any recently. It’s a 
good thing the Oscars are coming up so that 
I can be informed of all the great new films I 
missed over the year. Now if I only had a TV 
on which to watch them...